The announcement that US retailer Borders is putting its UK stores up for sale is the latest bad news for those who want to see books maintain their high profile in high streets and shopping malls. Just a couple of weeks ago, Waterstone's announced that it would reduce its retail space by 10%, possibly closing 30 stores. Independent bookshops are closing at a rate that, The Bookseller reports, will reduce them to extinction in 15 years.

Meanwhile, supermarkets and the internet - principally Amazon - continue to grow. Their shares of the market increased by more than 30% in 2005, and by a double-digit figure last year. The gains in sales in the book market overall are only slight. The conclusions are obvious.

While the Borders sale is a symptom of problems in the US rather than of UK conditions, the senior management at the UK company - which comprises 71 Borders and Books Etc stores - has been frank about the difficulties of the market here.

Borders and Waterstone's are in a bind. As critics argue, they ought to be able to present themselves as specialists, offering ranges that their supermarket rivals cannot match. But they are too large to afford to be seen to ignore the bestsellers. So they have to promote Peter Kay and Jamie Oliver and Martina Cole as well, even though they struggle to compete with the prices offered by Tesco and Amazon. The market, determined by discounts, compels them to lose money.

The troubles of Borders and Waterstone's could be good news for independent booksellers that offer refreshing alternatives to the homogenised offerings of the chains. Many bookbuyers support them as a matter of taste and principle. But taste and principle have only limited effectiveness in competition with ease and range (Amazon) and cheapness (supermarkets, the chains - and Amazon). The best independents, and those lucky enough to operate in areas away from heavyweight competition, are doing well. For others, the market is tough.

Do these developments matter? The internet gives us better choices than we have ever had before - but it is in our interests to see a wide variety of outlets competing for our custom. That will help to preserve a varied literary culture. Let us hope that Borders finds a buyer with similar aims.